Thursday, June 7, 2012

We have a good excuse

Or....Why we didn't really master free motion quilting in a week.

We were seduced. No, really! We saw this at Taylor's and we couldn't resist.

Some of the very good advice we received about quilting this little quilt involved the suggestion that we should go with pretty much invisible thread since we are just learning to Free Motion Quilt. Uh, yeah. That sounds like good advice. Too bad we didn't think of that when we bought the aforementioned thread. :)

It's beautiful thread with its lovely shades of turquoise. So pretty. But it's definitely no shrinking violet. We did a few practice sessions with it and tried out all the tips and tricks for FMQing that we got from all our advisors. We definitely need a bit more practice.

So, for this quilt only, we decided to do something we're not famous for. We decided to compromise. We quilted it by machine in straight lines with our even feed foot and the dogs up, up, up! We really haven't done much machine quilting at all so we're looking at this as the Grandma Coco equivalent of crawling before we walk.

What a beautiful June day!

The good news?? We LOVE it! This quilt's turned out way better than we had even hoped. We stitched the binding on by machine and we were half-way around hand-stitching the back of it in place when we realized we should have stitched that down by machine, too! It would have gone so much quicker. Next time, for sure!!

Grandma Coco, old doll that she is, is gradually moving into the 20th century.

Too bad, we're now in the 21st!!

We're linking to the Needle and Thread Network (sneaking right under the wire this week!). Click on over and have a look at what other Canadian crafters are up to!

5 comments:

I love it too! Your inner borders really bring out the colours. Training wheels are great; soon you will kick them off, drop those doggies, and be free.I always sew my bindings on as you describe - by machine to the front and flipped to the back to hand stitch. I like the look, and find the process soothing. The recipient will love this quilt.

Your quilt is beautiful. There's nothing wrong with straight lines - sometimes I think we get too wrapped up in fancy feathers and flowers and intricate lines when all we really need is a simple little crosshatch.

if you use invisible thread never use it on childs quilts, please. It doesn't break and can cause havoc with little toes and fingers! Also, if you machine sew your binding on, sew the binding first to the back and then on the front, that way you don't miss the edge or sew too far into the edge. I think your quilt is great with the diagonal lines, those lines enhance the block and give them movement, curvy or wavy lines might not have done that! I kinda sound "miss know it all" oh well, ignore me if you prefer... hahahaha....

So glad to see your straight-line quilting as I have been wondering about something like that for the quilt I am working on. I always finish my bindings by machine, with a zipper foot for the in-the-ditch part.

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